The Rescue
by RubyWings91
Summary: Zim, looking for a new human test subject, steals Squee. Dib goes to save him.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim, the Squee Comics or any characters within them. They are owned by Jhonen Vasquez**

 **I was digging through old stories I worked on a long time ago and found this. It just needed some touch ups but was otherwise complete. It will have five chapters which I plan to post once a week but may do so more often depending on how I feel. I hope you enjoy this.**

 **The Rescue**

 **Chapter 1: The Boys In the Crazy House For Boys.**

 **Tuesday, 12:00 PM**

As I am escorted to the cafeteria, I look at the photos on the walls. On the right side are a row of pictures of the many psychiatrists and scientists who "cure" the children here. Most of them had their faces so covered with lab gear that I still can't tell what they look like, but those photos were preferable to the faces that could be seen. Their eyes; they are so cold, and their expressions ranged from emotionless to malicious. If I were still allowed to write my stories, I would base many of my villains off of them.

As terrifying as these images were, they were all a thousand times easier to look at than any photo on the left. It was covered from top to bottom with children who had been "cured of their mental illnesses." Each child had a big smile. They look happy, but the truth could be seen in their eyes and their postures. There clearly wasn't an independent thought running through their heads. Whoever these boys had been no longer existed; they were all just hollow shells. The first time I saw this wall, just after being transferred from the Defective Head Meats Institute, I had broken down crying for those children and for myself because I knew that, when this was all over, I would join their ranks.

The guards stopped just outside the doors of the lunchroom. They would be going on their break now while I ate lunch under the eyes of the people keeping order in the cafeteria. I don't think that they'd even let us eat together if the state didn't require that the children should have at least an hour of social activities every day if they are deemed stable enough to handle it. I probably would have completely lost my mind here if it had been otherwise.

I got into the lunch line and received my food, if one could call it that. I think that these people get their food from the same place that the schools do. Although, thankfully, it hadn't been spiked with any mind-controlling substances. At least, I didn't think it had. For all I know, I could just be trapped in a self-made nightmare within my mind because I can't reach the real world.

I shook my head, trying to dislodge these thoughts. If I kept this up, I'd crack for sure. Not that it mattered at this point. Remembering what I had found out a few hours ago, I sighed. Once my tray was filled, I took off for a group of tables in the middle of the room.

"Hey Squee," At the call I looked over to the third table of the fourth row to see an eleven-year-old boy with dirty blond hair and green eyes. He was waving to me, "Over here."

None of the kids here knows the name my parents gave me. If someone were to ask for Todd Casil, no one would know whom he or she was referring to.

As I walked over to him, I could feel a smile make its way across my features. "Hi, Ryan, good to see you." Ryan was my closest friend in this place. The day after Schmee had been taken from me, he had seen me crying and comforted me. He helped me get through the next few weeks as well. We have been close ever since.

"So, I see you're still you," Ryan stated.

"And you are still you." I responded, with the common greeting of the asylum children, as I sat down across from him.

I suddenly felt my smile slip away and tears run down my face.

"Hey, what's the matter? This is happy hour. You can't be bummed out during happy hour."

"Oh Ryan, I heard them talking this morning. My … my lobotomy is scheduled for Saturday."

Suddenly all the tables near us fell silent for a moment. Then the other kids started talking again, louder this time, as if by doing so they could forget the words they had just heard. A few of them went over to other tables to spread the word. Another boy was about to be destroyed. I couldn't help but find it sad that so many people I have met that seem to care about anyone but themselves are trapped in here.

After a moment, Ryan finally found his voice. "Oh Squee, I'm so sorry."

"I guess this is the end of the line for me, huh."

"Don't talk like that. There's still hope. Most of the kids who escaped got away when their clock had almost reached zero."

"Yeah right, look at me. Do you think I'm the type of person who's going to suddenly come up with a plan and bust out of here?"

"Yup. I'm sure of it. Your escape will be so impressive, that it'll be as memorable as the Dib Incident."

Dib, the Houdini of the asylum. He was brought in on Halloween morning. By mid-afternoon, he was thrown into a top security cell with a sentence to remain here for the rest of his days. Well, whatever his "problem" was, they clearly underestimated the intelligence that came with it. When a nurse came to his room after nightfall with his dinner, he was gone.

To this day, no one has figured out how he pulled it off. The door to his room was still locked, and although his straightjacket lay on the floor, there were no fingerprints on the walls, no footprints leading down the hall and even the ventilation grate was still coated in a layer of dust. Rumor has it that he showed up at his school the next morning, as if nothing had ever happened.

Today, if one were to ask the doctors or security guards about him, they'd deny any knowledge of his ever being admitted here at all. Ask a child and they'll say he's "the greatest escape artist who ever lived."

"You overestimate me. I don't think I have it in me to get out of here the way he did." I said.

"Yeah, you're probably right, no one in this room could pull off an escape like that. But he was Professor Membrane's son, so he's a guaranteed genius."

I sighed and stated, "I wish I had called out to Nny when I saw him."

"Oh, not this again! Look, whoever this Neighbor Man of yours is, there's no way he could have helped you. You can't even be sure that he would have tried."

"Don't talk that way about him," I yelled as I slammed my fists on the table. "You don't know what he's like. He would have been able to get me out of that prison without breaking a sweat. As for if he would do so, I know he would have, just like he saved me from that man behind the mall."

I felt a shiver run down my spine. It would have been just like that. I could just picture the path of carnage leading to the exit he would have used to get us out of the institute. It probably wouldn't be a first-floor exit either. That was why I hadn't called out to him, why I wouldn't ask him to save me, even when he walked right by while scientists prepared to run horrible tests on me. I didn't have it in me to condemn any innocent people that might find themselves in his path.

Ryan rubbed his temples and released a sigh. "Look Squee, whether he would have helped you or not isn't important right now. What is important is that you need to find a way out of here, fast. We all do."

Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Squeeeee" I shrieked as I jumped three feet into the air. The next thing I knew, I felt a sudden pain. It couldn't be pinpointed, but it hurt so much. When the shock passed, I found myself on my hands and knees. I quickly stood up and turned to look at a guard who was holding a cattle prod. Don't cry, I can't cry, they always laugh at us when we do. I took a deep breath and asked, "Is something wrong sir?"

"Yes, you were showing signs of aggression." A reference to my startled jump and scream, or perhaps he saw me slam my fists on the table. "Therefore, your cafeteria privileges are being revoked until you are stable enough to handle it. You will be moved into a holding chamber until someone comes to bring you back to your room."

From behind me I heard Ryan call out, "Goodbye Squee and good luck." As I walked down the row, hands patted my back and words of encouragement were spoken. Even though they pretended that it might be otherwise everyone knew that the next time they saw me, I would be another photo child.

I was able to hold back my tears until I was in the privacy of my cell. My last thought, before I fell asleep that night, was that it couldn't end like this, not after all I had been through.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Zim's Test Subjects**

 **Zim's Base, 9:00 PM.**

 **Zim's P.O.V.**

"So, let's see, what test subjects do I need to stock up on?" I asked myself. I began checking my security footage in the areas where I had the cages and tubes holding the earth filth I used for my experiments. "I've got weasels, I don't need any squirrels right now and…"

Suddenly the computer stated "You know, you could just ask me about the status of …"

"Silence! I'm trying to see what I need for my experiments."

"But, I could just…"

"Computer, are you going to disobey a direct order from your master?"

The computer let out a sigh and said, "No sir."

"Good, now show me the chickens."

As the computer switched to the footage of the chicken coop, Gir suddenly appeared on the screen. He was in the process of dunking one of the chickens in some sort of dip. The population of the disgusting birds was down by about two-thirds of what it was when last I had checked. I turned on the speaker that's connected to the chicken room and yelled "Gir. Don't eat the chickens. I need them."

Gir looked up in wonder. "Master, where are you? I don't see you." As he stated this, he looked all around the room.

I leaned against the back of my chair, closing my eyes and kneading my temples with my fingers as I stated, "I'm in the control room, Gir." Then I added, "I told you to stay out of the lower levels of the base unless I called for you. So, why are you in there right now?"

As I watched the robot wave the clucking beast around on the monitor he stated, "The T.V. said I need to go eat some fresh chicken. So I'm eat'n chicken."

I felt my eye twitch as I said, "Well, you can't eat those chickens." For the millionth time, I found myself wondering what the tallest were on when they were shown this "advanced" sir unit. Then I used a comment that always got Gir out of the lab. "Hey Gir, I think the Scary Monkey Show is on."

The robot immediately released his goop covered victim and started running in the direction of the elevator while screeching "Monkeyyyyyyyyyy." When he left, I continued my examination.

"Okay. So I need some fish, an octopus, sunflower seeds and another human." The first three would be easy enough, but I would have to be careful about where I got the human. If I took it from the wrong place, other people could come looking for it. My fingers drummed the armrest of my chair as I thought about this problem.

The first thing to pop into my head, as was always the case in situations like this, was to go after Dib. Although I giggled at the thought of making him miserable, I knew that wasn't a real option. Trying to catch him was like trying to catch a slippery scandernocht in its home swamp. Even if I did successfully capture him, were he to escape, he could quickly ruin any plans I might have going at the time. Besides, these experiments often proved fatal to the humans they were performed on. I've come to the decision that I'm keeping the Dib when I'm done with the planet. My loss of interest in anything when he had ignored me in favor of "real science" ran deeper than my needs to conquer this planet. No, Dib wasn't an option for this but I should probably look into designing a holding tank he couldn't escape from and soon.

I couldn't take anyone from skool, also because it means the big headed boy would notice and try to interfere. At least I think he would. Although, of late, hurting his fellow classmates doesn't seem to have been an issue when he's meddling with my plans.

I smiled at the thought of the size of his head. It's gigantic. The thing's so big that it has an entire dimension devoted to it. How can some one's head actually be so large?

As I started thinking about that horrible Halloween, my smile was replaced with an angry snarl. As if the candy zombies weren't bad enough, Dib had to escape that human correctional facility and drag me into his dimension with him. As for the stuff going on in that boys head, woo, scary. Better him than me.

I'm not exactly surprised that he escaped the correction building, though. If he can slip through my advanced security system, then there's no way that anything so primitive as human technology would be able to hold him long. I wonder why they didn't come after him, though. Once Irkens label one of their own as dangerously defective, they would chase it to the ends of the universe to put him or her down. The humans didn't even acknowledge that they had held Dib there.

Suddenly I jumped out of my chair and yelled, "That's it! That's where I'll get the human from!"

The computer was mumbling something, but I was far too excited about the brilliant plan forming in my head to listen.

"Computer, locate the building that the Dib was held in on Halloween."

"Okay." The computer said and after a couple of seconds, stated "Crazy House for Boys has been located." I brought a connection cord out of my pack and plugged it into the computer so that I could download the information.

"Sir, what are you planning?" The computer asked, sounding slightly interested.

"I'm going to take a human worm baby from the correctional facility for my lab experiments. They never missed the Dib Beast, so I doubt that they'll miss another one. I might just start taking all the humans I need from there from now on."

All of the sudden, I felt really hungry. I pulled a bag of chips out of my pack and opened them.

After a moment, the computer made a sound suspiciously similar to that of clearing one's throat. I looked at the screen and asked, "What?"

"Your plan."

"Oh. Oh yeah. The plan. Right, and what an amazing plan it is." How could I have let myself be distracted so easily, I thought as I set the bag of chips down. "I'll throw on some stealth gear and take one of the humans from the building but first, I will need to learn about the security there and choose my target. I don't want to end up with one that's too tall or too smelly." I couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Oh, the thought of having one of those humans totally under my power, with no hope of escape, it's delicious."

 **Dib's Room**

 **Dib's P.O.V.**

"Don't count on it space boy," I stated as I watched creature on the computer screen, which had unwittingly told me his whole plan. He was now laughing maniacally.

It's a good thing I bugged Zim's base last night, otherwise he probably actually would have complete control over the victim he chose. I needed to think of some way to get into his base and rescue the kid. It would be challenging. It's already hard enough to get in and out by myself, let alone trailing some poor guy who had been traumatized from experiences at both the asylum and in Zim's lab.

"Shut up in there," screamed Gaz from her room, making me realize I had been stating my thoughts out loud, again.

"Sorry, Gaz," I yelled back and then said, "I really need to stop talking to myself," After a moment, though I asked silently, "But who else is there to talk to when no one wants to listen?" And no, I'm not talking to myself right now; I'm just making a statement.

It's a good thing I came up with some new gear to use against Zim. If his senses are as acute as he claims, then the stuff I just got should discombobulate him long enough for me to pull off my rescue mission.

"Now to plan the break-in," I stated with a smile on my face. It was always fun to sneak into Zim's base, as long as I wasn't caught doing it. Just looking at the machinery in it gives me ideas for how to improve my own technology. I also get a kick out of listening to him rant and watching Gir mess up everything he does. Thank you, whoever it was who decided to give him that screwed up little machine.

I pulled up the three-dimensional model of Zim's base, which I had created on my laptop. Whenever I found out something new about it, I added to the model. I would use this to plan out my every move and when the time came, I would be ready. I had to be.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Targeting and Retrieval**

 **Zim's Lab, Friday, 4:00 PM.**

 **Zim's P.O.V.**

"That probe should have been back by now," I stated. Two days prior, immediately after coming up with my incredible plan, I had sent a robot mosquito (a branch off of the robot bee I had designed) to gather key information about the security of the building and about the human worm babies who lived there.

"Maybe it broke. That seems to happen to a lot around here." The computer stated matter-of-factly.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that the odds of something going right are rather slim, with all the random things that happen."

Boom! Suddenly a huge explosion could be heard from somewhere above. As I covered my antennae to shield them from the echoes of the offending noise, the computer listlessly stated, "Speaking of which, Gir just blew up the kitchen again."

I was about to go up the elevator shaft and see how much of the base was still intact when a beeping noise echoed throughout the room. "Finally, its back. Computer, have you downloaded the information on it yet."

"It just got here sir." The computer responded.

I took a seat and waited for the computer to download the data. When it was finally done, I looked at the record of the asylum's security systems. It was smeetish, really. There would be no problems getting past it. Then, I started looking at the video shots of the children, next to that was a display of their daily schedules, their health, their age and, most importantly, their height.

After seeing a few pictures of some rather tall boys, I stated, "limit the search to humans shorter than me." The next image to come up was too fat. The following one was too sickly. The one after was too…

An hour into the search I was beginning to lose interest. My arms were hanging limply over the armrests as I reclined in the chair. "Next," I said and the screen changed to an image of yet another stink beast. "No." The image switched out again, this time to a human of ten years. He had messy brown hair and large eyes. It was also very small for its age. "That one," I stated with conviction. The computer brought up the location of the human, as well as its schedule and I downloaded the information into my pack.

"This human is set to have brain surgery tomorrow." If that happened, there would no point in taking it. I won't work with damaged merchandise. "Zim shall get him tonight," I stated after a moment. "I'll pass some of the time until then by fixing whatever damage Gir has done up there." I grimaced at the thought of what might be waiting on the above ground floors but still walked toward the elevator. I was a soldier after all, and a good soldier would never let fear get in the way of… okay, so I don't know what fear has to do with what Gir did to… I am Zim!

 **Outside The Crazy House for Boys, Saturday, 12:35 AM.**

I landed my Voot Runner in some bushes just outside the boundary of the Asylum grounds. As I walked away, I glanced back at it to make sure I could see it in its hiding place. About two-thirds of it were visible. Good, no humans would see it but I would have no trouble finding it again. Sometimes, I'm so clever that I amaze myself.

As I extended my robotic legs, I put on my night vision goggles. Then I set off for the large, imposing building at top speed.

 **Squee's P.O.V.**

 **12:40 AM**.

I was tired. I didn't sleep last night, but I wasn't about to go to bed now. If these were to be my final hours, I didn't plan on wasting them.

As I lay on my belly, coloring in one of my drawings, I thought about the things that had happened to me over the last couple of years. It had been interesting, to say the least. There were surprises around every corner, even if most of them were unpleasant.

I'd really like to talk to someone right now. Even the ghost girl from my room would be a welcome sight at the moment. Unfortunately, I was the only one within the confines of these padded walls.

Suddenly, I heard a click from the door. I looked up to as it creaked open to reveal a creature with four spider-like legs.

"Squeeeee!" As I screamed, I heard footsteps rushing toward the room from down the hall. The being in the doorway turned its head toward the sound, raising a pair if antennae. I could also see that the spider legs were actually coming out of its back. It also a smaller set arms and legs, it was the same size as a boy between the ages of eleven and thirteen.

As a glow came from the same direction as the footsteps, the creature ducked in and used its spider legs to ascend the walls and hang over the door.

Then, a guard and a nurse appeared in the doorway.

"What's going on here?" The bulky guard asked.

I pointed to the bug-like beast hanging above the door and said, "That thing broke into my room."

At my words, it bared its teeth in an aggressive manner. They locked together like a zipper.

Instead of looking where I was pointing, the two people just stared at me. The nurse gave me a pitying look as she pulled out a needle.

They thought I was hallucinating, I realized. "Please. Just look up. It's right above the door." Figure the chances of that happening.

It's snarl turned into a smile and that made it look all the scarier. As terrifying as Nny's smile when he slammed his bat into the skull of my would-be attacker in that dark alleyway, except I knew this thing wasn't about to come to my defense.

"Just stand still and everything will be okay in a moment." As the nurse said this, she reached for my arm.

I jumped out of her reach. She grabbed me again and I tried to break her grip, but the guard jumped in and helped pin me to the padded floor. Then I felt a small prick on my upper arm. After a moment, everything went black.

 **Zim's P.O.V.**

Could it get any easier? The human's care units just incapacitated the child for me.

The nurse looked at the boy and said "poor guy."

"Don't worry," the guard consoled her, "he's getting a lobotomy tomorrow morning. As soon as he recovers, he'll be on his way home."

"I know," she responds, and they turned and walked into the hallway, "but I still can't stop feeling bad for him."

Click. "I wonder how he got the door unlocked?" The guard asked quizzically after making sure the door had truly been locked again.

"No telling," the nurse responded.

I waited until their footsteps faded into the distant background noise that came with every large, occupied building on this planet. Then I made a hole in the door with the lasers in my pack legs. Once that was done, I picked up the little stink beast on the floor.

Before leaving, I looked around the room. It was small and the walls were covered in some sort of soft material. There was barely any light inside at all. The thought that they were going to hold Dib in one of these for his whole life…

Suddenly wanting nothing more than to be away from this place, I rushed through the door, down the hall and out of a window on the side of the building. From there, I jumped and used my pack legs to brace for the impact two stories below before rushing across the lawn. Just as I reached the Voot, the searchlights came on, shooting large, moving beams off into the night.

I hopped into the ship with my unconscious passenger, turned on the engine and headed toward the base.

Mission accomplished.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Rescue**

Chapter Four: First Impressions

 **Zim's Base**

Saturday, 3:00 a.m.

Squee's P.O.V.

As I regained consciousness I immediately knew that I was not in the asylum. I was floating in a tube filled with clear liquid, which I could somehow breathe in. The curve of the glass, if it was glass, did not bend the light that passed through, so I could easily make out my surroundings.

I was in a lab of some sort; the dominant color in the room was red. There were other tubes in the room as well, holding various different animals. Although most of them were familiar a couple looked unearthly. There were also organs. My attention was drawn two a couple of eyeballs on the other side of the room.

As I heard footsteps coming from a separate room, I realized that the tube also left sound unaffected. I listened as the owner of the feet moved closer and closer.

Then he came into my line of sight, I saw that it was that creature from earlier. In the light of the room, I could see that it had green skin and two red orbs for eyes. It looked at me and the creepy smile I had seen earlier crept across its face. "So, you're finally awake." It stated.

I wonder if I can speak. Well, only one way to find out. "Where am I? Who are you? What do you want with me?" I decided to stop here even though I had a thousand other questions.

For a moment, he looked as if he wasn't going to answer my questions. Then he strutted up to my tank and began speaking "I am Zim, a mighty Irken Invader. You, little stink creature, are now in my underground base. I have brought you here so I could perform tests and experiments on you." As he talked, he made multiple hand gestures. From the way he acted. I could tell he thought of me as of little importance. Well, that seemed to be the case with all the aliens I've met.

I rolled my eyes as I was struck by the familiarity of this tune. Another alien, more tests. Oh well, better than a lobotomy, I suppose. "So, how long do you plan on keeping me here?"

"Until I take over the Earth or you die in one of my experiments."

Great, I thought sarcastically, just perfect.

"Um, excuse me, Mr. Zim, sir, but why me? Certainly, you could find out more from an adult than from a little kid. Maybe you could let me go and replace me with one of them."

"No, the adults of your species naturally have a stronger stench than worm babies such as yourself."

"Then why me and not some kids from a public school?"

" Someone might notice if they disappear." He said, stressing someone as if he had some particular person in mind.

I wonder who? "And you think they won't come looking for me?" I know they won't, but maybe he doesn't.

"No one came after the Dib human when he got out." His face suddenly contorted with anger, "Stupid, interfering human." he hissed, " he always messes up my plans. I hate him."

Just let him rant. It'll pass.

Wait. Dib? This boy was really starting to sound interesting, son of the world's most famous scientist, asylum escapee and alien fighter. I wonder what else he deals with.

After a moment, Zim calmed down and continued. "Seeing as he was not dragged back into confinement, I realized that I could take humans from there without worry. You have the distinct honor of being the first from there whom I have allowed to be in my presence."

"Lucky me," I stated dully.

He totally missed the sarcasm in my voice. "I'm glad that you are smart enough to see my greatness. Keep this up and if you're still around when I conquer this mud ball, I might keep you as one of my personal slaves."

So, I'm at the mercy of an egotistical maniac with access to advanced technology. Worse, I might spend the rest of my life with him. Can I go back to The Crazy House For Boys now? Turns out there are things worse than a lobotomy and this lunatic might one of them.

 **Somewhere on the same block the base**

4:16 a.m.

Dib's P.O.V.

As I jumped across another space three stories above the ground, I found myself wishing that Zim had taken one of our classmates. I wouldn't have gotten in the way of that. Hell, I might have even made some suggestions for things to do to them.

But no, instead, here I am, roof jumping with a weight comparable to a middle school student's book bag on my back. I'm preparing to do my most complicated break in ever; all for a kid I didn't even know. I hope it's worth it. With my luck, either he'll probably turn out to be a big jerk or Zim will capture me as well.

As I arrived above the Irken's base, I pulled out an extendable pole which is made out of carbon Nano tubing (carbon atoms structured in such a way that makes a structure many times stronger and lighter than steel). I wedged it between the wall of Zim's base and the house next to it. Until recently, this would have been a nearly impossible task but, for some reason, Zim had recently adjusted his base so that it had three stories above ground level to match the height of the surrounding houses. Why did he do that anyway… Oh, well, that's not really important right now.

Once it was secure, I attached a clip to it which held a rope that ran into a pulley system that I carried on my back and pressed a button that allowed me to lower myself to the pipes below. I put on my X-scope, which I had modified so that I could look through walls as well as people. I looked down at one of the larger metal tubes that joined Zim's base to the house next to it. There was definitely enough space in it for me to sneak in. excellent.

I repelled down the wall of the house I was on and landed on the metal tube. After, I pulled out a device from my pocket that looked like a pen but when I clicked the cap, a laser shot out. Using it, I cut a hole into it big enough for two, so that I can slip into it now and we could leave through it later without having to stop. Once I was in, I used the X-scope to find my way down into the underground base and to the edge of the room where the boy was being held prisoner. Zim was in a separate room nearby.

Before using the laser to open another hole in the wall of the room, I put a set of plugs into my ears and brought out my secret weapon. I glanced at it to make sure the octagonal shape filled with cylinders was still in one piece.

Squee's P.O.V.

I looked up when I heard a soft scraping noise and was shocked to see a boy crawl out of a hole in the wall. He was in a ninja suit that and had a strange visor over his eyes. The most distinguishing feature about him was the black scythe shaped lock that rose up above his head.

He looked at me and put a finger to where his lips would be under the cloth, signaling for silence.

I nodded in understanding.

The boy ran over to the door that Zim had exited through a short while ago, which, for some reason, hadn't closed correctly. He took out an oddly shaped box. Then he took a small object out of a pocket in his trench coat. After a moment, I saw a spark and then a small flame coming out of the thing, which I identified as a cigarette lighter. He lit a fuse attached to the box and slipped it through the door.

He immediately rushed over to a pannel next to the tube and pressed a button. The fluid suddenly emptied out and the walls my prison lifted up into the ceiling. Unfortunately, an alarm, in the form of a computer yelling "intruder alert" and blaring red lights, started going off too.

My rescuer put a pair of earmuffs over my head and not a moment too soon. As Zim appeared in the doorway, a loud whistling sound could be heard, followed by an echoing boom and a flash of light that was quickly followed by another. The alien fell to the ground, closed his eyes, covered his antennae and shrieked as the bombardment continued.

Dib's P.O.V.

I directed the small child back toward the hole I had made. I went in first in order to avoid getting us tangled in the rope. He quickly followed me in.

Once he was within reach, I pulled him close to me, so I wouldn't drop him as I retracted the rope and we were lifted into the air. As we rose, I could feel two rapid heartbeats, one inside my chest and the other against it. By the time we reached the top level, where I had to stop the rope to keep us from smacking into the ceiling of our tunnel, silence had descended upon us.

It took us a few moments to figure out how to get out of the vertical section of the tunnel and to the horizontal one which marked my entrance. After that, it was only seconds until we were exposed to the windy night.

"The fumes should give us a couple extra moments" I stated as we crawled out of the hole and he removed the earmuffs I'd given him earlier.

I was about to retract the rope to the pole on the roof when I realized that I had forgotten to bring something to get up from under the pole and onto the skyline.

I felt a wave of embarrassment roll over me. How is it that I could successfully plan out a rescue from a place with advanced alien technology, yet fail to plan for scaling the last three feet of a wall?

I didn't realize I had spoken of this out loud until the boy next to me said, "It's okay, you were probably just too focused on the harder stuff." He glanced around for a moment before asking, "so, what now?"

Knowing what we would have to do now, I unclipped the contraption on my back because I knew I couldn't have anything slowing me down. I hated the thought of leaving this stuff behind, both because it was good equipment and because it would allow Zim to see every stage of how I'd gotten in this time. I would have to find another break in point next time I wanted to spy on him.

There was now only one way out and it would be hard. As I pulled out my earplugs, I explained what was going to happen next.

"Now we have to run across the lawn. Watch out for the gnomes, they shoot lasers out of their eyes and if they grab you, then you'll find out how well Zim's handling those fireworks within about thirty seconds. Once you reach the sidewalk, you're safe. What ever you do, don't trip and don't look back. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Diiiiib!" Although the shriek came from a long distance below, there was no mistaking the fury in it.

"Go!" I yelled and we made a dash out from between the buildings and across the lawn, dodging the lasers that shot out of the lawn gnomes' eyes as we went.

Even when we made it to the sidewalk, we kept running. Once we ran out of the street connected to the cul-de-sac and around the corner, we slowed to a walk.

After a few minutes of walking, we sat down under a tree and I removed all my headgear, exposing my face to the cool night air, which I took in with deep breaths.

When I looked over at the child, I was surprised to see fear in his large eyes but then I thought about what he had been through and realized it was only natural.

Perhaps if I talk to him, he'd calm down some.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: A New Beginning**

 **Squee's P.O.V.**

When we finally stopped, my lungs felt like they were going to burst. While following my rescuer up the road, I looked around us. The wind blowing through the trees caused the branches to sway. The clouds covered the sky, reflecting the lights of the city off in the distance. The air smelled of rain.

I brought my attention back to the boy who rescued me.

As he removed the equipment covering his face, I felt a tremor run through me. He looked like he could be a younger version of The Scary Neighbor Man. The only thing that contrasted with that image was the large rimmed glasses he was wearing.

For a moment, he just stared at me with a big, eerily familiar smile on his face. Then he asked, "Do you realize that you're free now?"

When he asked this question, my fear was replaced momentarily by confusion. Then I felt a smile spread across my own face. Free, I was free. I wasn't trapped in an asylum, waiting for my lobotomy. Nor was I floating in that tube deep under the house behind us. Then I realized that my new-found liberty extended further than that. No one from my past even knew where I was. I don't even have to go back to that horrible neighborhood where every day was a fight for survival . Do I even want to?

"Feels good, huh?" My rescuer asked.

"Yeah," I said but after a moment I asked "why?"

"Why what?" He asked as his smile was replaced by a slight frown.

"Why did you go through all that trouble to rescue me? You don't even know me. Most people hate me, but you came rushing to help me as soon as you knew where I was."

"Before that, actually. Zim's been planning this for three days now and so have I. I couldn't leave anyone in his grasp. Well, maybe the other kids in my class, but… they're all jerks."

I nodded, knowing the feeling. Kids can be mean.

For a moment, the boy seemed lost in thought. Then he regained awareness of his surroundings again. "I'm Dib," he stated as he reached out a hand.

"My name's Todd," I stated as I shook the offered hand "but everyone calls me Squee," I added before he relinquished his grip.

"Squee. I like it. Very… original," Dib mused.

"So is Dib."

"Touche," he said as the smile crept back across his features, once again bringing my attention back to how much he resembles Nny. Then he asked, "would you mind if we walked while we talk? Zim might just decide to come after us and I'd like to be on my feet rather than sitting down if he does."

"Of course not," I said as we got up and headed down the street, side by side. I'd like to be able to run if Zim showed up again, too. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"To my house. You can spend the night if you want. I'm exhausted, haven't slept in days and you don't look like your doing so well either."

As he said this, I suddenly realized how tired I felt. "Where would I sleep?"

"I'll pull out a sleeping bag and you can sleep in my room if you're alright with that."

I considered it for a moment. He certainly seemed nice enough and even though he looked a lot like my old neighbor, he wasn't acting very crazy at all. "Sure, I've never been to a sleepover before," I said as my smile came back.

"Great because I've never had one," he responded.

We both giggled a little at this statement. Then we fell silent for a while.

As we walked, curiosity suddenly gripped me and I broke our silence by asking, "aren't you Professor Membrane's son?"

His smile was replaced by a troubled look as he said, "Yes. Why?"

"How did you get out of the crazy house?" I asked, "Did Zim have something to do with it?"

"No, actually, he didn't. I was unwillingly jumping between this dimension and one in my…" He stopped in his tracks. "Hey, how do you know about that?"

"Everyone in the asylum knows about it. You're the boy who got out without leaving a trace. We all refer to your escape whenever…"

"Shh," Dib cut me off as he put a finger to his lips.

As I fell silent, I heard something above the roar of the wind. Plink, plink, plink. The noises came in rapid succession and even as I listened, they were growing steadily louder.

"Shoot!" Dib exclaimed quietly. Then he pointed to a bush. We both slipped into it. We made it just in time too because a familiar figure on four metallic legs crawled off the roof of a house a moment afterward.

 **Zim's P.O.V.**

As I stepped out into the night, I was thankful that I had decided to bathe in paste. Even though the current information channel on the TV had predicted that the night would be clear. I had long ago learned that it was not a reliable source weather information at all but what could be expected of such primitive creatures.

The medical nanobes that my pack had been released to repair my damaged antennae were almost finished. I flinched at the thought of those horrible, loud, hot smelly, bright little explosives the Dib had used to cripple me. I was going to make him pay for this.

I smelled the air with my antennae, trying to catch the scent of that horrible dirt child. Each human gives off a slightly different set of smells and I had learned the one he gave off very well.

I caught a whiff from between my base and the building to the left of it. Inside, I found one of his toys lying on the ground, attached by a rope to a pole. I had to admit, this was clever for a creature that wasn't an Irken. Time to update the base's security system.

Since he must be using the skyline to smuggle the other human to safety, I drew out my pack legs and ascended to the roof. The wind had blown away most of his scent, but if I kept close to the tiles, I could still pick up traces of it. I jumped from one rooftop to another until a gust of wind carrying his smell caught my attention, the scent it carried had two different human scents instead of just the Dib's. I followed it, crossing a couple of streets quickly and returning to the tops of the housing units. I was out of my disguise, so I couldn't afford to be seen. I froze, looking down into a street which was giving off a particularly strong aroma.

I looked down onto the sidewalk. Yes. He was down there, along with the other human. I couldn't see anyone on the street, but the wind had betrayed them to me.

I crawled down the building, noticing how the human's odors became stronger as I approached the ground. Then I stopped on the sidewalk because their scents had weakened.

I turned back to see an open window over some bushes. "Foolish humans, do you think you can hide from the mighty Zim?" I leaped toward the window and just as my momentum brought me over the bushes, I saw my targets roll out. Being that I had already committed the jump, I continued to soar over them and into the house, where I rolled across the floor until I hit a closet.

Crack. That was my spine again, wasn't it? I tried to move out of my painfully uncomfortable position, but my limbs wouldn't respond. Yup, It's broken. By the time it heals, the Dib will have reached his home. I'll have to get my vengeance another day.

Luckily, the humans who lived here hadn't woken up to the sound of my entrance. I could hear them snoring upstairs. how could they make such a horrible noise, even when they weren't awake?

Well, nothing to do but wait for my pack to fix the damage. "At least things can't get much worse."

As I looked out the window, I saw that the rain had started. It was one of those harsh ones that come suddenly and heavily.

I sighed at the thought of having to rush back to the base before the liquid pelting my skin tore too much paste off my body.

 **Dib's P.O.V.**

As we ran, the downpour began. Within seconds, we were soaked. I knew that we were safe. Zim wouldn't dare come after us in this mess. Still, we kept going because the sooner we reached the house, the sooner we could dry off.

As we turned onto my driveway, I felt a wave of relief. It always felt good to make it home after breaking into Zim's base. I could never quite consider it successful until I stood at my front door.

Before I opened the door, I motioned for Squee to stop. I popped my head in to make sure that Gaz wasn't up yet. Seeing that the coast was clear, I opened the door the rest of the way and allowed my new friend to enter.

When he didn't immediately rush in, I turned around to see he had his head tilted up, staring at the house. I tapped him on the shoulder, bringing his attention to the front door. Seeing that it was open, he darted inside.

As I closed the door behind me, I looked at the boy. He seemed a little on edge as he glanced around the room. Each movement seemed slow and calculated. His dripping hair was plastered to his head and his clothes were soaked. If anything, it made him look smaller than when I'd first seen him, floating in that tube and I have to say, he looked pretty small in it.

"I haven't thrown out my clothes in a couple of years, I'm sure I can find something for you to fit into," I said as I started heading up the stairs. About half way, I looked back and asked, "Are you coming?"

He came up the stairs and followed me into my room. I put my hand up to the scanner that was next to the closet and the door slid open. I pulled out a box from the bottom. Then I reset the laser from my pocket to a low setting and cut the tape around it. I flipped open the lid to reveal some shirts and pants I wore when I was nine. They looked a lot like what I wore now, except that they were smaller.

"Wow," I heard the other boy exclaim from across the room. Oh yeah, most people don't have access to this technology. He's probably never even seen a palm scanner before.

I grabbed up the old night clothes I had at the bottom of the box that were striped with two shades of blue and turned back to the other boy. "Here you go," I said, holding out the clothes to him. "They're probably a little large, but it'll be better than being cold and wet like you are now."

"Thank you," Squee said quietly as he took the fabric out of my hands.

"The bathroom is the door to the left of the stairs. Be quiet though, Gaz doesn't like to be woken up early and it's only…" I glanced at the clock "5:30."

"Okay."

As he left, I closed my door and changed into my own nightclothes. Then I went back to my closet. I had bought my own sleeping bag when I was six. Dad had signed me up for a week at summer camp but then forgotten to buy supplies. I kept it in my own closet since it seemed clear that no one else would ever use it. Guess I was wrong about that.

When Squee came back in, I took his wet clothes, along with my own threw them in the washer machine downstairs and started the washing cycle.

As I walked back into my room, I saw that the smaller boy had already crawled into the bag and was fast asleep. I put my glasses on the dresser next to my computer and crawled into my own bed. I was out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

 **Squee's P.O.V.**

After crawling into the sleeping bag, I was blessed with a deep, dreamless sleep.

At first, when I opened my eyes, I didn't know where I was. This wasn't the asylum. I paused, watching and listening from my position on the floor. As my eyes fell on the closet and the palm scanner next to it, memories of what happened last night rushed back to me.

I crawled out of the sleeping bag, yawned and stretched. The bed next to me was empty and unmade. I exited Dib's room and went into the bathroom. After a shower, I went downstairs, entering the living room.

I realized a girl was watching me as I entered. She was sitting on the couch. Her hair was purple, she wore dark clothes and had a hand-held game system in her grasp. Just looking at her sent warning signals off in my head. No wonder Dib had been so edgy earlier.

"Hi," I said.

The girl huffed and went back to whtever game she must have been playing on the game slave system in her hands. While staring at the screen she calmly stated, "If you interrupt my game, you will regret it."

I felt a shiver run down my body. I was just about to creep back upstairs when Dib poked his head into view from another room.

" Did you say something, Gaz."

"Your friend is awake and he's distracting me."

He looked at me with a big smile on his face. If I had hoped that he would look less like The Scary Neighbor Man in the sunlight, it was in vain. In fact, he looked more similar now. It was creepy but not enough to make me regret his presence.

"Good morning. How'd you sleep?" He asked enthusiastically.

"Good."

"You're just in time." He said, "I've just finished making breakfast for us. What do you think about eating on the roof? We have an observation deck on the back of the house. The storm blew over and there's not a cloud in the sky. We could talk about what you're going to do while we eat."

Gaz let out a growl from her spot on the couch.

Dib continued as if she had done no such thing. "I'll just put the food on the dumbwaiter and we'll head up."

"You have a dumbwaiter?"

Before he could answer, a floating TV came into the room. On it was a picture of a man wearing a white coat and goggles and in the bottom right corner was a Prerecorded Message glowing bright red. I recognized the man as Professor Membrane because I had seen his picture on the wall of the asylum.

The recording gave Dib and Gaz a set of directions for the day's chores and did not leave until they both said "Yes dad."

Once it was gone, Dib took me up to the observation deck, where we sat at a table by the entrance. As we ate the bacon and scrambled eggs on our plate we talked.

"So," Dib said, "what do you want to do after your clothes are dry?"

"I really ought to be heading home," Squee said somewhat sadly. "Although I doubt my parents really miss me."

"I know the feeling."

Squee nodded, thinking about the scene he had witnessed downstairs. "Thank you for saving my life."

Dib paused and stared at him in confusion for a moment.

"What?" the younger boy asked, feeling a little nervous.

"No one's ever thanked me for anything before. Well, with the exception of Zim when I stopped him from winning the election for Skool president and suffering a horrible fate and that was clearly out of spite."

Squee smiled and said, "well, then I'm glad that I could be the first." After a moment, he added, "Do you think you could visit me sometimes? It would be nice to have a friend like you around."

"Friend?" Dib queried, sounding confused.

Squee frowned at the sight of the other boy's confusion and said, "Well, if you want to be friends, but if you don't want to, I'm okay with that, too."

"Well of course I want to be friends," the boy blurted out, suddenly. "I've never had a friend before. Do you know what it's like to try to protect the world when no one seems to care if you exist? Yes Squee, I think I will visit you sometimes. Although it will be hard to find the time, having to keep an eye on Zim and all."

"Thanks!" I said happily.

"No, thank you."

"For what?"

"For the first time in years, I don't feel like I'm on my own. I can't remember the last time I was treated like a real person and not the gunk on the bottom of someone's boots. Yet, here you are, treating me like an equal and you actually want to be around me. No one's ever treated me like that. I… I'm…" His voice trailed off.

"Glad we met," I finished for him.

"Uh huh," he said as he nodded.

"Me too."

We smiled at each other as we sat at that table atop his house; the only thing above us was a clear blue sky.


End file.
